§ 8557

(a) “State agency” means any department, division, independent establishment, or agency of the executive branch of the state government.

(b) “Political subdivision” includes any city, city and county, county, district, or other local governmental agency or public agency authorized by law.

(c) “Governing body” means the legislative body, trustees, or directors of a political subdivision.

(d) “Chief executive” means that individual authorized by law to act for the governing body of a political subdivision.

(e) “Disaster council” and “disaster service worker” have the meaning prescribed in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 3200) of Part 1 of Division 4 of the Labor Code.

(f) “Public facility” means any facility of the state or a political subdivision, which facility is owned, operated, or maintained, or any combination thereof, through moneys derived by taxation or assessment.

(g) “Sudden and severe energy shortage” means a rapid, unforeseen shortage of energy, resulting from, but not limited to, events such as an embargo, sabotage, or natural disasters, and that has a statewide, regional, or local impact.

(h) For purposes of this chapter, a “deenergization event” means a planned power outage, undertaken by an electrical corporation, as defined in Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code, to reduce the risk of wildfires caused by utility equipment, pursuant to Public Utilities Commission Resolution ESRB-8 and any decisions issued by the commission, the former Wildfire Safety Division, as set forth in former Section 326 of the Public Utilities Code, the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, or any other agency with authority over electrical corporations. A deenergization event begins when an electrical corporation provides notice to any state agency or political subdivision of the potential need to initiate a planned deenergization of the electrical grid, and ends when the electrical corporation restores electrical services to all deenergized customers, or when the electrical corporation cancels the deenergization event for some or all of its affected customers, and rescinds the notice of the potential need to initiate the deenergization event. A deenergization event does not include any planned outages in connection with regular utility work.

(Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 119, Sec. 3. (SB 254) Effective September 19, 2025.)